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Just a little something that I found to be very relevant to this blog. Gabrielle Bernstein is a life coach, author, motivational speaker, etc. I follow her instagram page and it’s full of affirmations so check it out to find your inspiration on a daily basis.

Also, tonight is the last night to enter the online yoga membership giveaway! I will be choosing two winners tomorrow at 9 am PST so get your entries in before that time!

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all just flow through life without any problems or adversity? While it currently sounds awesome, life might be pretty boring. For me, my biggest challenge at the moment is finding a job but challenges can apply to anything – a difficult asana, training for your first race, or a big life change. How are you dealing with the setbacks? The frustration? Perhaps even the pain? The journey through your challenge and coming out on the other side is what helps you grow and makes you stronger. You learn more about who you are and what you are capable of doing. So if you are currently in the middle of some difficulties, just know there is light and a more empowered version of yourself standing at the end of the tunnel.

Alo is having a yoga and activewear sample sale this coming weekend for those of you living in Los Angeles. I don’t own anything from this company so I don’t know anything about their clothes except that I’ve seen yogis around the studio wearing it.

Here’s a blurb about what you might find:

“Yoga jackets originally $50 are now only $8-$10, t-shirts originally $32 or now only $3, and yoga pants/bottoms originally $50-$60 are now only $8-$10! ALO is a trendy activewear and lifestyle line featuring yoga inspired sports bras, tanks, hoodies, capris, and pants made out of lush, eco-friendly materials such as bamboo and organic cottons.”

At those prices, it’s definitely worth checking out if you have some free time. I’ve gone to sample sales in the past and I suggest getting their earlier in the weekend so things aren’t completely picked through.

“Never underestimate what you can accomplish when you believe in yourself.”

Many of you have probably seen this video. I just re-watched it for almost the tenth time and if you haven’t seen it, get some tissues ready (a cover of Coldplay’s “Fix You” playing in the background certainly doesn’t help with the waterworks). During the past six months, there were moments when I felt defeated and my morale was low but whenever I watched this, I’m motivated again by this man’s resilience and determination. Arthur Boorman was a disabled vet and was told he would never be able to walk unassisted again and ended up gaining A LOT of weight. Then he discovered yoga with DDP and worked through fall after fall after fall that would have left me frustrated and stopped me in my tracks. Boorman’s transformation at the end of the video is quite inspiring and you are left with the message that you can do anything if you believe in yourself. So never ever give up.

This year, the Wanderlust Festival in Tahoe/Squaw Valley starts on my birthday and I thought it would be a perfect way to celebrate. Four full days of yoga with some of the most well known yogis during the day and music to fill your evenings. A friend of mine went to the Wanderlust Festival in Oahu and raved about it. She also mentioned her boyfriend had access to a cabin in Tahoe that we could use at no cost for this festival. I assumed with lodging taken care of, this would make the festival a bit more financially accessible. So I went onto the site and checked out ticket prices and financial accessibility went out the door. 4-day passes are $475 and 3-day passes are $395! If you did the full four days and had to pay for travel/lodging/food, this festival would cost close to $1,000. Who are they targeting to attend this festival?? Clearly, not unemployed people like me. Even when I was working, this would have been difficult to manage.

Earlier this year, I wanted to attend the Yoga Journal Conference in San Francisco and tickets were EXPENSIVE. I don’t remember the exact cost when I looked late last year (close to $1,000 is what I’m coming up with), but early bird prices for the 2014 conference is $600. Add lodging, travel, and food to that and well, you know what I’m getting at.

There is a way to participate in these yoga getaways for a fraction of the registration cost. As with many conferences and events of this scale, there are typically volunteer or work-exchange opportunities, which I have done in the past but for work-related events. Both Wanderlust and Yoga Journal Conference have these volunteer/work-exchange opportunities.

For Wanderlust, they look for volunteers to fill a minimum of three shifts starting the weekend prior to the event to the Monday after. Shifts are 5-6 hours each and you are given one day off where you can schedule classes like everyone else. You also have access to all the music events as well as some swag from the sponsors. There is an application fee of $15. Check out Wanderlust’s volunteer page for more information.

For the Yoga Journal Conference, you will need to be available for a full FIVE days without any other commitments. You work up to 16 hours, with many of the shifts being a door monitor, and are not guaranteed any classes. Here’s the part I don’t like. You have to pay them a “nominal” fee of $200 as a commitment to work the conference. You will be rated on your performance and if you meet their standards, you will get $100 back a month later. So you are still out $100 in addition to all the other expenses you might incur. Check out Horizon Conference’s info page for more details about YJ’s Work Exchange Program (they manage YJ’s conferences).

If you are interested, sign up early! For both of these opportunities, I see it as a way to get a feel for the festival and the inner workings of these large events, network with others in the yoga community, and the bonus are the workshops and the classes. I most likely won’t go this route for Wanderlust if I somehow magically come up with the funds (birthday present, anyone?) but I’m thinking about it for the YJ Conference in SF in 2014 since I’ll be living up there.